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Tattoos: More Than Skin Deep

The stories behind the ink

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Photo by Janice Checchio

Tattooing dates back to the Neolithic Age. Tattooed mummies have been found at dozens of archaeological sites from Egypt and the Sudan to Greenland, China, and the Andes. In the intervening millennia, tattoos have been both revered and maligned, often carrying a stigma.

But a Harris Poll released in February offers proof that our perceptions and acceptance of tattoos is changing. Today, nearly half of all millennials (47 percent) report having at least one, followed by Gen Xers (36 percent). Nearly 3 in 10 Americans (29 percent) sport a tattoo (up from 21 percent in 2012), and of them, 7 in 10 have 2 or more. According to the survey, 32 percent of adults would be OK with a presidential candidate with a visible tattoo. And the number reporting that tattoos make them feel attractive was up noticeably from 2012 (32 percent vs 21 percent).

With so many people getting tattoos, we reached out to the BU community, asking students, faculty, and staff to show off some of their tattoos and talk about the stories behind them.